[WinPartners] FileMaker Pro 8.5 Released

[Cecilia Marra]

Good afternoon to the MIT Community:

Information Services and Technology (IS&T) is pleased to announce the 
availability of and support for FileMaker Pro 8.5 for Macintosh and 
Windows, and recommends that users of FileMaker 7.0 (and earlier), 8.0, 
and Intel Macs move to v8.5.

Who Should Upgrade and Why
--------------------------- 
Current users of versions 7.0 or earlier are strongly urged to move 
directly to version 8.5, bypassing migrations to intermediary versions 
along the way. Current users of version 8.0 should also move to v8.5 to 
take advantage of the new features and Universal Binary compatibility.

Significant security improvements have been made to the FileMaker 
product line with the arrival of versions 7.0 and higher. For this reason, 
IS&T anticipates the discontinuation of support for FileMaker 6.0 by 
June 30, 2007, and strongly recommends that users of FileMaker 6.0 or 
earlier start the migration process to v8.5 well before that date to allow 
sufficient time to make the transition. The Departmental Consulting and 
Application Development (DCAD) Team can facilitate the migration from 
6.0 to 8.5; for more information, please contact db-consult at mit.edu. 

System Requirements
---------------------
Windows requirements:  go to http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?vid=726#sr

Mac Requirements:  go to http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?vid=725#sr

NOTE:  All the current shipping FileMaker products HAVE NOT been certified 
for Windows Vista and there are known issues.   For more information, go to 
http://itinfo.mit.edu/article.php?id=8258 for details.

New Features
--------------
FileMaker v8.5 is similar to v8.0, but offers valuable new features, including: 

- Runs natively on Intel-based Macs 

- Web Viewer, a layout object that incorporates a client's web browser 
window within your database

For more information on new features added in versions 7 and 8, go to 
http://itinfo.mit.edu/article.php?id=8255.

Backwards Compatibility
------------------------- 
The FileMaker 8.5 file format is compatible with the 7.x and 8.x family. 
However, mixing client versions in a shared environment is not advised, 
as there are feature differences that could cause problems for users of 
older versions. If you are using FileMaker Server, your clients and server 
version should match, with the latest patches for both clients and server 
applied. The only exception to this rule is that 8.5 clients should connect 
to Server 8.0v4, as there is no Server v8.5. 

The FileMaker 5.x/6.0 file format is *not* compatible with any later 
version. You may run 6.0 and later clients on the same machine if you 
need to access different version databases, but they are essentially 
completely separate applications. Again, we urge that users of v5.x/6.0 
migrate to v8.5. 

Where to get FileMaker v8.5
----------------------------- 
MIT administrative staff, faculty, and students may request v8.5 
licenses and media now by using an online request form. Media will 
not be distributed without a proactive request from license holders. 
For licensing information at MIT, go to http://web.mit.edu/is/products/vsls/mitfmpro/index.html. 

FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Advanced (formerly Developer), FileMaker Server 
and Server Advanced, and FileMaker Mobile are currently available for 
use by MIT faculty, staff, and students free of charge under the terms 
of an IS&T-brokered volume license agreement with FileMaker, Inc. 

NOTE: Support for FileMaker Server is anticipated in spring 2007. 
There are currently no plans to support FileMaker Advanced, FileMaker 
Server Advanced, and FileMaker Mobile. 

Getting Help 
-------------- 
FileMaker at MIT documentation can be found at http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?id=48. 

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the 
Computing Help Desk at (617) 253-1102 or computing-help at mit.edu.

Thank you and enjoy the new world of FileMaker 8.5!

Cecilia Marra, Product Release Coordinator and the FileMaker Release Team